Woman Caught On Tape Beating Elderly Man Flees Country

UPDATED 6:21 AM EDT Aug 29, 2007

BALTIMORE -

The woman who caught her elderly father's caretaker abusing him on videotape may never get justice because the accused woman fled the country.

The security tape Jaki Taylor recorded showed her 90-year-old father, John Taylor, being beaten while he couldn't defend himself on four different occasions in May. But the woman accused in the beatings may never be prosecuted because she is on the run.

"I'm livid. I'm disappointed in the system," Jaki Taylor said.

Police arrested 54-year-old Anastasia Olouch after seeing the video from the security cameras Jaki Taylor installed in her home.

"The fact is that this woman came into the country, beat on my dad, and the system said it was OK to do that," Jaki Taylor said.

A Baltimore grand jury indicted Olouch on multiple counts of assault, abuse of a vulnerable adult and reckless endangerment. But police said that just before Olouch was supposed to stand trial on Aug 8, she ran.

"Detectives from our warrant task force began looking for her immediately after she missed her court appearance. She boarded a flight days before she was due in court. We believe she's back in Kenya," said Sterling Clifford of the Baltimore city police.

Court records show that Olouch is a citizen of Kenya. Taylor said authorities knew that and did not take steps to keep her in the country by seizing her passport.

"They dropped the ball on this. Where's the justice for John Taylor? There was no justice for my dad," Jaki Taylor said.

But Margaret Burns of the Baltimore city state's attorney's office said that taking a passport is out of their jurisdiction.

"The state's attorney's office has done everything it could to ensure public safety and seek justice for the victim and family," she said.

It is not clear if Olouch can be extradited from Kenya to face charges if she is found.

Jaki Taylor has written to members of the Maryland Congressional Delegation to see if they can help bring her back and enact stronger penalties for the kind of abuse her father suffered.

Rep. Elijah Cummings responded to the issue in a statement. He said he is committed to doing everything he can to help Jaki Taylor and encouraged both the city police and the FBI to swiftly proceed with a thorough investigation into the matter.

Sen. Ben Cardin also responded, saying he is looking into what legal steps might be taken to bring Olouch back to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.